The University of New Mexico men’s soccer team (3-9-0, 1-3-0 C-USA) lost its fourth straight game on Saturday against the UAB Blazers (3-6-2, 1-3-1 C-USA), 4-0.
The Blazers opened the scoring in the 26th minute when Aidan O’Hara drilled a ball past Lobo goalkeeper Ford Parker thanks to a through ball from Tarnue Tyler. It was the first of three shots that the Blazers would put on the goal in the half.
The Lobos had their only shot on goal of the match at the end of the half, as a Nick Barreiro free kick nearly deflected off a player and into the net before a save from UAB keeper James.
Teal snuffed out the scoring chance. The Lobos recorded ten shots on the day, but that was the only one that they were able to put on goal and force a save. At the half, the Lobos trailed 1-0, and appeared to have a hold on the game, according to head coach Jeremy Fishbein.
"There is no excuse for tonight's outcome. It was an extremely disappointing performance in that we gave up an early bad goal, then got a hold of the game, then made a huge error on the second goal and it went from there," Fishbein said in a release. "I take responsibility for the current team environment and the situation these guys have been put in — it's on me."
Things began to get out of hand early in the second half, as O’Hara scored his second of the game less than five minutes into the final 45 after a shot deflected off of Parker and landed at the feet of the forward. Fishbein said that his team made a huge error on that goal and UAB capitalized.
The Blazers added goal number 3 in the 56th minute, taking advantage of another UNM mistake as Blake White was able to win the 1-on-1 battle with Parker and push the lead to 3-0. UAB had a number of chances in the second half, recording eight shots in the second half.
The fourth and final goal of the game came in the final moments, as Louis-Etienne Nzonza capitalized on a rebound after the initial shot bounced off the post and landed at his feet and he was able to finish.
The Lobos were outshot 13-10 overall and 9-1 in shots on goal. Nick Barreiro led the Lobos offensively with one shot on goal.
"Tonight was a great team win against a really good New Mexico team," UAB head coach Mike Getman said in a release. "All season we have battled hard but did not get the results that we thought we deserved. This was a big win that gave us a much needed confidence boost."
The Lobos will look to break their losing streak on Saturday, Oct. 13 against South Carolina at 6 p.m. at the UNM Soccer Complex. The Gamecocks, who played Charlotte on Sunday night, will be looking to build momentum in Conference USA play.
Cameron Goeldner is a sports beat reporter and photographer for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers men’s soccer, women’s basketball, softball and the Albuquerque Isotopes, but also contributes content for baseball, basketball, football and track and field. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @goeldfinger.
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